High School category, Page 259
Defending WPIAL champion Peters Township not looking past next opponent
Editor’s note: Trib HSSN will publish team-by-team previews for one conference per day until the start of the high school football season Aug. 23. The state finals are the first weekend in December and the WPIAL championships are a couple of weeks earlier, but those dates aren’t circled on calendars...
High school scores, summaries and schedules for Aug. 8, 2024
High schools Golf Boys Section 2-2A Greensburg Central Catholic 208, Mt. Pleasant 222 Medalists: Braden Marker (GCC) 37; Aydan Gross (MP) 37 Nonsection Freeport 201, Armstrong 226 Medalists: Aiden Bauman (F) 38; Jonas Miller (A) 41 Keystone Oaks 213, East Allegheny 263 Medalist: Jeremy Wagner (KO) 40 Girls Section 2-3A...
Springdale girls soccer sets big goal: ‘We want gold this year’
Hailey Marchlewski remembers how she and her Springdale girls soccer teammates felt after a pair of tough postseason setbacks, first by one goal to Freedom in the WPIAL Class A semifinals and then to rival Riverview, 3-1, in the PIAA quarterfinals. “We’re excited to get back out there because we...
New coach DeVito eager to build up Norwin girls soccer team
While she grasps for similarities between the girls soccer programs at Penn Hills and Norwin, Ashley DeVito continually finds herself recognizing the differences. “This is a community where kids grow up together, and there is a lot of excitement with playing together (in high school) … The game is big...
Resurgent Latrobe has star power for move back to Class 5A
Editor’s note: Trib HSSN will publish team-by-team previews for one conference per day until the start of the high school football season Aug. 23. Having coached at Penn-Trafford for a decade, Ron Prady has a good idea what it takes to win in Class 5A. That should help the third-year...
Woodland Hills looks to give Scoop Smith more help, return to playoffs
Getting the ball to Scoop Smith was the best option any time Woodland Hills’ offense faced a tough spot and needed a big play. It often worked, too, since the wide receiver scored a team-high 17 touchdowns, flashing the quickness that made him a WPIAL track champion in the 100...
Penn-Trafford looks to bounce back, meet lofty expectations
When a team wins WPIAL and PIAA titles, expectations within the football program are set high. With that said, the past two seasons at Penn-Trafford didn’t reach the expectations set in 2021. Injuries, inexperience, little mistakes and not playing up to their abilities saw the Warriors go 11-11, ousted from...
Gateway to follow veteran offensive linemen to success in Class 5A
No matter which quarterback Gateway starts behind center or which running back carries the ball, the Gators know their success is on the line. As in, the offensive line. The Gators have some new faces in the backfield, but all five blockers are returning starters. That experience should be a...
Kiski Area seeks return to postseason in move up to Class 5A
The Kiski Area football team made a move up to Class 5A in the offseason, but what Cavaliers veteran head coach Sam Albert hopes doesn’t change is his team’s ability to make the WPIAL playoffs. He said the battles in its revamped conference with Armstrong, Franklin Regional, Gateway, Latrobe, Penn-Trafford,...
Don’t forget about Franklin Regional in conference title race
Lance Getsy doesn’t seem to mind that people are overlooking his Franklin Regional football team. The clamor surrounding the WPIAL Class 5A Big East Conference this preseason has mostly been about Latrobe, Penn-Trafford and Woodland Hills. But anyone who forgets about Franklin Regional might be making a big mistake. The...
Armstrong looking for new cast to step up as team makes jump to Class 5A
With a move up to Class 5A, Armstrong knows that this season will definitely be a tough one, with a new class and new section opponents. The section includes traditional powerhouses Gateway and Woodland Hills, to go along with Penn-Trafford and Franklin Regional, which have each won the section at...
Pack the Park in Vandergrift again will kick off girls volleyball season in A-K Valley
When Pack the Park, an early-season matchup between the Kiski Area and Norwin girls volleyball teams on the outdoor courts at Kennedy Park in Vandergrift, began in 2021, Tim Toy had a vision that it would be an annual event to celebrate the start of each fall season. Now in...
Greensburg Central Catholic baseball player Anthony Grippo commits to Penn State
A new NCAA recruiting rule kicked in earlier this month. It prevents college coaches from communicating with prospects until Aug. 1 of their junior year. When that day rolled around for Anthony Grippo, his cellphone “blew up.” The rising junior from Greensburg Central Catholic had more than 20 calls or...
Pieces in place for another strong season at Pine-Richland
Editor’s note: Trib HSSN will publish team-by-team previews for one conference per day until the start of the high school football season Aug. 23. In his first two years at Pine-Richland, Jon LeDonne has guided the Rams to the WPIAL championship game. Following the WPIAL and state title run in...
Fox Chapel putting in work to end losing streak
Fox Chapel senior offensive tackle Blake Kuhn believes the Foxes have put in plenty of work to halt a lengthy losing streak. But for the time and effort to build into something greater, Fox Chapel needs victories. The Foxes last won a game in 2021 when they upended Upper St....
In transition year, Shaler out to earn respect
Joe Rispoli doesn’t want anyone to think the Shaler football team’s transition to a new generation of players will mean a dip in performance level. Rispoli represents what the Titans hope can lead to success. They have a number of versatile players who can handle many jobs. Rispoli, a senior...
Plum football again adjusts to new set of conference opponents
The last three realignment cycles have brought change for the Plum football team. They went from Class 4A in 2020-21, to 5A in 2022-23 and are in 5A again this cycle, but they have an almost brand new slate of conference opponents for which to prepare. After being in the...
With Julian Dugger era over, Penn Hills looks for new cast of stars
Turning the page to a new quarterback wasn’t going to be easy for the Penn Hills football program. For the previous four seasons, the Indians could depend on Julian Dugger, now a freshman at Pitt, to lead the offense. Dugger passed for 4,984 yards and ran for 1,939 yards during...
Fueled by large senior class, North Hills eyes return to playoffs
There’s a little bit of Mike Tomlin in North Hills coach Pat Carey’s mentality. Tomlin’s motto, “The standard is the standard,” is certainly one that Carey has adopted for the Indians football program. In 2023, he felt as if the program didn’t live up to that mantra. “We only had...
Upper St. Clair’s Tyler Robbins commits to Miami (Ohio)
Upper St. Clair’s Tyler Robbins, a 6-foot-10 forward who won a WPIAL basketball title last winter, committed Tuesday to Miami (Ohio). The rising senior announced his college decision on social media. Robbins also listed offers from Duquesne, Robert Morris, Harvard, Northeastern, Kent State, Pepperdine, Manhattan, St. Francis (Pa.), Loyola (Md.)...
Norwin boys soccer team gets to work in defense of WPIAL championship
Veteran boys soccer coach Scott Schuchert had a message for his Norwin players when they lined up to run sprints during a conditioning workout this week at the Turner Valley Soccer Complex. “Winning isn’t fun.” Say what, coach? At that moment, he could have replaced “winning” with “running” and it...
Seneca Valley looks to rebound from rare last-place finish with experienced team
The Seneca Valley football team was down last fall and out of the WPIAL Class 6A playoffs for the second straight year. However, the Raiders’ stay in the basement might be a short one with higher expectations this fall for a team that finished winless in 6A and 3-7 overall....
Led by QB Tristyn Tavares, Norwin returns to Class 6A
A summer paving project caused some temporary parking inconveniences at Norwin Knights Stadium. For workouts, football players had to park high atop the field at the middle school and walk down the hill. Similarly, Norwin is back in the WPIAL’s highest classification for football. The Knights hope for a transition...
Hempfield set to take on Class 6A schedule again
Year 2 appears to have greeted Nick Keefer with more structure and the feeling of a greater sense of eagerness among his lot of 80-plus football players. “We have great kids here, and they are always ready to go to work,” said Keefer, the coach at Hempfield. “We were together...
North Allegheny chasing historic WPIAL 3-peat
Editor’s note: Trib HSSN will publish team-by-team previews for one conference per day until the start of the high school football season Aug. 23. Last November, North Allegheny tied Pine-Richland and Central Catholic as the only teams to repeat as WPIAL champions in Class 6A football. “The dedication to everyone...
